Fitzgerald Pioneers
| Fitzgerald Pioneers | |
|---|---|
| Minor league affiliations | |
| Previous classes | Class D |
| League | Georgia–Florida League (1953–1957) |
Previous leagues | Georgia State League (1948–1952) |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous teams |
|
| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 1 (1948) |
| Team data | |
Previous names |
|
Previous parks | Blue & Gray Park |
The Fitzgerald Pioneers were a
minor league baseball team, based in Fitzgerald, Georgia, that played from 1948 until 1957. The team played in the Class D level Georgia State League
and won the league's title in 1948.
Baseball Hall of Fame member Earl Weaver
was the player/manager for Fitzgerald in 1957
History
In 1953, the team joined the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.[citation needed
]
On July 19, 1952, at Pilots Field against the
During the game, Reliford, playing outfield for one inning, made a catch over the wall, robbing Pilot player Jim Shuster of a home run to end the game. He was congratulated by Pilot fans, who came on the field and cheered him.[2]
The ballpark
Fitzgerald played home games at Blue & Grey Park. The ballpark was located at 301 East Palm Street, Fitzgerald, Georgia 31750.[5][6]
Notable alumni
Baseball Hall of Fame alumni
- Earl Weaver (1957) Inducted, 1996
Notable alumni
- Ace Adams (1952) MLB All-Star
- Joe Reliford (1952) Youngest professional and broke league color barrier
References
- ^ "Joe Reliford: The Inning of a Lifetime - Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
- ^ a b "Baseball's youngest pro made here". www.statesboroherald.com.
- ^ "Batboy barrels his way into Hall of Fame".
- ^ "The youngest ballplayer ever was HOW old?".
- ^ "Blue & Gray Park". Fitzgerald, Ga.
- ^ "1948 Fitzgerald Pioneers Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.